Sunday, March 29. 2009

Tom, Adam, and myself made up the crew. I arrived early and resolved an air leak problem in the mower, I found one of the air lines had gotten out of place and rubbed against the drive shaft. I replaced two hoses with a quick trip to Napa, and pulled them up into the cab and had the machine running again. While at NAPA, I also retrieved the hydraulic filter for the same machine. Tom and Adam were out next. Tom took the mower to get fueled, and was back on the main to finish mowing. Adam went to barn 2 to finish draining the fuel out of the 585.

I continued to work on bolts to remove the two failed motors off the Jackson 6000 tamper, but decided north winds and 33 degrees, this was a job better left for another day. Off to the barn. After Adam drained the fuel and re-filled the tank with fresh gas, Adam and I tackled the leaking brake calipers on the 585. We jacked and cribbed the front of the car to allow access to the underside. Since the bolts didn't want to budge, we employed the blue wrench and quickly had the old calipers off the car. In short order we had the new calipers on, and bled, and tested. This car should stop on a dime, and give nine cents change. About this time, Tom was coming back to the property, having finished mowing the main. After a minor derailment, we had the mower put away. That machine will need to be greased again after it's winter workout.

Karstens BEFORE cutting

Karstens AFTER cutting

After lunch, Adam got the fork lift out to sort material back by yard 10/11. Tom and I switched out 24 track to get the tamper and tie crane first out. Monday Wes and Warren Lloyd are going to again do the track department a huge favor and go retrieve the engine for the tamper. If they have time, and the snow isn't too high against the door, they will once again put this engine back on the frame of the tamper. Hopefully Fischbach has it right this time. Next weekend we will have to get this baby out and break her in.

After the switch move, it was back to the 585 to get the engine running again. I left our heroes improvising a new rubber fuel line to the fuel pump. I'll run to Napa next time and get some replacement 1/2" ID fuel hose to complete that job.

Frank D.

------------------------------------

Sunday's Report by myself:

Today started out kinda dreary; snow on the ground, drizzle and lots of
clouds.

Steam leads looking more like Wisconsin 40 years ago..

Today's gang was myself, Tom H, and Frank D. Frank got out
first and replaced a fuel line on the EJ&E 585 taking care of a
small fuel leak. I joined shortly afterward and we headed to the Model
50 burro crane in Yard 10. Our goal was to test the recently repaired
transmission and decided to dig two cars out of Yard 13. We needed the
C&NW flatcar for Four Mile Siding and the gondola for scrap
loading. With Frank as the operator we found out just how much the
crane can haul. We were able to move 1 load and 5 empties at once...
Not bad for a smaller crane. Playing it safe we cleaned out Yard 13
and moved everything to Yard 14 in three car cuts. We got our two cars
and brought them over to Yard 11. We expected to take the entire day
digging out the cars in Yard 13 but in fact we were done a lot sooner
than planned. By the time Tom arrived we were finished and decided to
head back out to Yard 13 to start shuffling track panels around to
build Track 134.

Lifting a Panel into Place

We used the Burro crane to dig out all of the
100-25lb panels and set them roughly in place. We got six set in place
and there are four more 100lb panels to set. One at the bottom of a
stack in Yd13, two are on the Rock Island flatcar and one is on the
connector track under the switch timbers. Those four should put us
within a few rails of the end of track. Yard 13 is clear so we can
come in with the rail saw and drill and crop the panels together.
Complete, this will add about 600' of storage space to the yard. Frank
did a great job on the crane today and the machine didn't have any
failures to report.

Yard 13, 6 of 10 panels set

As soon as Barn 11 is ready for us to work in, we
will. Within the next few weeks we'll try and get the three 112lb
track panels to Four Mile Siding and set in place, just as we did in
Yard 13. By the time we left the sun was out in full force without a
cloud in sight with temps in the mid 40's. The property was almost
entire void of other life, but it was well worth the trip out.

Tuesday, March 24. 2009

In my absence, Buzz Morrisette has taken on the job of making new wood items to replace badly rotted parts on this locomotive.

Footboard Assembly

Here, Buzz is making good progress on an all new footboard assembly for the locomotive pilot. Somewhat unusual, it is a one piece fabrication of white oak, compared to two simpler footboards to each side of the coupler.

Tuesday, March 24. 2009

I got to visit the shop for the first time following my January 12 injury, and got to take a few pics, although still not cleared to drive myself out there or to do much actual work.

Molder

Here is the Fay molder/sticker with completed guard cage for the flat belts. Only awaiting an operator with two good arms right now. Do I see any volunteers?

Tenoner

And here is our H. B. Smith tenoner from the Illinois Traction System. This century old machine has seen a lot of progress with clean up, painting, repairs, and the start of an elaborate cage to guard the multitude of belts needed to run the machine.

Yes that caption is correct. 30 new windows manufactured in 30 days - but working seven days per week. This view shows Tim Peters at the rear of the Berlin sander, Dick Lukin feeding new frames in, and Henry Vincent assisting.

Note the stacks of frames ready to sand, or which have just been completed. In addition to the side windows (three different sizes) there were two motorman's windows and four cab windows for the North Shore 757 which went through the process.

Sanded Frame

Tim is catching the sanded frames about one every 25 seconds. The machine makes short work of finished sanding and smoothing the glue joints.

Side Door

In his spare time working with the many windows, Tim has rebuilt the third side door for the 1268, used to load passengers.

Monday, March 23. 2009

Last Saturday's gang was Tom, Frank, Steve and myself. The original
goal for the weekend was to get the mainline walked and inspected for
defects and Tom continue to brush cut on the main. Frank and I ended
up getting out early and spent the entire day walking from MP0 to MP
4.8 marking defects along the way. We came up with 3 full pages of
issues to correct, mostly loose bolts and missing washers, but a few
other important defects like sink holes near 4 culverts... A day of
repairs will be necessary very soon, but for now the line is open to
40MPH without any speed restrictions. Tom spent all day on the mower
cutting brush from Seeman Rd to Four Mile Siding. He made huge progress cutting areas with very heavy brush. The improvement is very noticeable.

PHOTO

Our third gang, Steve, worked on
property all day. He worked all day getting the EJ&E 580 motorcar
cleaned up and running, which he ended up getting started later in the
evening. It hasn't run in years. Before we got the EJ&E 585 motorcar this was Frank's project. The 585 sidelined this project and has sat dormant since. We now have two A-8C Motorcars operable for the first time. Way to go Steve!

Sunday was Frank, Steve and myself. We hit
the main early with the EJ&E 585 motorcar, hydraulic power cart and
tie crane and headed to Four Mile Siding. Frank ran the crane prepping
the siding extension for three track panels... This involved picking up
about 50 ties laid out and clearing the area for weeds. In the
meantime, Steve and I drilled two bolt holes at the end of a rail that
had never been drilled on the siding. We now have bolts in both rails
and the joint put back together. There is no reason Four Mile
can't hold revenue trains now. We greased the new power switch at Four
Mile, and continued greasing all of the spring switches as we headed back to the
property for lunch.

PHOTO

After a trip to pizza, I headed back out on the
main with a bucket of switch grease and hit all of the spring and power
switches on the mainline and station areas. Frank and Steve headed
toward the 580 and worked on the brakes. Saturday the 580 ran, and
Sunday the 580 stopped! The brakes hadn't worked correctly for years,
and now it runs and stops. The only issue holding up a test run is
that it's buried behind about a million freight cars and engines in
yard 10 - 100 track. Until the diesel guys get a large loco running to move
everything it'll hang in limbo. Again kudos to Steve and Frank for the
work!--------------

March 21-22, 2009

This weekend we had a different focus.
Saturday we picked up the transmission filter for the Model 50 Burro
crane from NAPA we had previously ordered. Getting that and a complete
set of filters for the 6000 filters set up the day's tasks. Frank was out with
Trackbolt (Frank's daughter Emily) and Tom was out with Tyler. Frank and Emily did wonders
getting oil changed and filters replaced on the 6000 while Tom and
Tyler did a great job cutting the mainline. By dark Tom had the entire
line cut from one end to the other! Only a few chainsaw jobs left and
we are 100% done with brushcutting. As promised, the line is tree free
by regular ops next month. Tyler and Emily helped me top off
the transmission fluid in the Model 50 burro and we tested it out with
much success. A few hickups, but it seems with the proper amount of ATF
and a clean filter the crane hauls very well. We tested it by moving
cars around Yd 11.

The diesel guys had a bunch of trucks that
needed to be rolled into storage at Yard 13... Long story short, 3 axle
trucks don't roll well through streetcar curves.... We assisted by re railing those trucks about 10 times in a span of 3 hours... We had
one set of trucks tucked away and another set half way to it's storage spot when the main
radiator coolant line on the 50 Burro blew apart leaving the crane paralyzed with a passenger truck hanging from the hook.. This was
around 9PM and we called it a day until we got parts due to lack of
options to lower the trucks...

Sunday Tom and I made it out
mid-afternoon armed with 5 gallons of antifreeze and a new hose. By
the time I showed up Tom had the new hose installed and antifreeze
topped off and we fired up the crane. We finished re railing the
passenger truck with the crane and Tom hooked it up to the Jeep with a
chain to drag it into it's storage spot a few rail lengths down. It
was a sight to see and got the job done without any more derailments or
broken windshields...thank goodness. The rest of the day was moving
equipment around for the next project and getting the Burro Crane put
away.

PHOTO

Thank you everyone for all the hard work so far this year.
Soon we'll wind down the machine maintenance and focus more on
projects. Coming up soon we are going to try to get Four Mile Siding extended
another 150', repair defects on the main and prep machines for tamping
and tie work. Machines that still need a fair amount of work is the Jackson 6000 tamper and the Model 30 Burro crane (X-17). We are out nearly every Saturday and help will be
appreciated more and more as we get into the operating season. Let me
know if you can join in the fun!

Next we went through Susan Marie and Ely and double checked all the lights in those cars as well

We are preparing for two main walking tours within the barn; 3-4 cars each, plus the streamliner sleeper train out in Yard 5. we have also talked (ok mostly me) about more display pieces in Barn 9.

Again a call for anyone interested in acting as a docent in one of the passenger sets in Barn 3 or Yard 5 this summer. We want to open more equipment for visits, but cannot unless we have folks we can count on to "keep an eye" on the equipment. the task is not to be a traffic cop, more a guide, answer person and all around social visitor.

On the mechanical front, Mike is making serious progress in the vestibule and buffer of the lamented DLW coach, hoping to have it operational early this season as well. Still a lot of work to go, but progress is always good.

The walls in ATSF 2544 are getting primed and painted after a lot of metaland sanding work. After this the "new" seats will go in and one side will be done for this season, with the second side planned for next winter. The car has thin wheels, so she is not going out this year anyway.

While I dont have any new photos yet, I dont want to forget that Roger has been working away at the bathrooms in John McGLothan as well, and I know when they are done they will be Gorgeous!

Out in Yard 5 The baggage racks in the front of the RDC are in and beginning to be painted. We had a broken seat frame, and managed to locate a replacement unit, so now all the seats are secure in place, and ready for guests. The second bathroom has been cleared out, and we are trying to come up with a way to feed AC into the car until we can afford to replace the blower motor. Plans for multiple displays in one section of the car, should make it a reasonably interseting place to visit. We also got the light units for the number boards out today, and should be a straightforward fix once we convert the ballasts like the ceiling fixtures. Then we hope to get correct number plates made and installes, make the unit 9934 again!

Birminghams air curtain is done and working fine. The kitchen is nearly ready for opening, with a bit more cleaning. We found the correct tablecloths and so this year we may have real table settings. While the dining area AC was stable last year, we have modified the kitchen AC to allow a bit more realistic space, and we hope it will give our visitors even more of a sense of the "way it was".

Come on out and say Hi. We are now in season prep mode, so anyone with the interest feel free to get in touch. We will be spending next week and probably the week after getting stuff "gussied up" sio even if you dont have the desire to be mechanical, we can use the help just cleaning and shining.

Sunday, March 22. 2009

The Line Dept. is the electric utility part of IRM. We design, install and maintain the museum's overhead and underground electrical systems. Both A/C power & lighting and D/C traction power. We also install and maintain signal & telephone lines above 7 ft. for those respective departments. We also design, install and maintain the building wiring systems for the Buildings & Grounds Dept.

Our system is quite elaborate. Com Ed, our local electric utility, maintains a 34kv to 4kv substation on our property. Everything on the 4kv side of the transformer is owned and maintained by IRM.

Our system consists of 7 miles of 2400/4160 volt line, single & three phase transformer banks from 1kva to 750kva, voltage regulators, two 800kw rectifiers, a traction power substation with 2 -2500amp feeders and electronic relays, many poles, underground ducts and manholes. We're like a small town.

We own a digger derrick and a bucket truck. We maintain a stock of protective rubber goods: hose, blankets,gloves and sleeves- all up to date. We have hot sticks, hot arms and lots of other "tools of the trade". We always work safely. The best part: it was all built and is maintained by unpaid VOLUNTEERS!

If you love this trade like I do or just interested in linework. Come out and help! The line dept is Fun! THERE's MORE TO IRM THAN JUST TRAINS.

Kirk Warner about More Mt Harvard PaintingThu, 08-23-2018 08:16Lots of hard work going into
achieving the nice finishes that
are being applied. The finished
product looks great! Is any of
your team still working [...]

Matt Maloy about Update... 428Wed, 08-22-2018 14:38If you want to keep up on the
Electric Department, Ted, I'd
recommend looking up the Hick Car
Works. A couple members from the
IRM Electric Car Dept [...]